Baby Death Lawsuit Cites A Hospital Language Barrier
础听Chuukese couple’s child died after聽a series of visits to the emergency room at Kapiolani Medical Center, their lawyer says.
础听Chuukese couple is suing Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, where their 9-month-old son died after a series of visits to the hospital鈥檚 emergency room in 2015.
According to the suit filed in U.S. District Court by Honolulu attorney Eric Seitz, the hospital failed to properly examine, diagnose and treat the baby, who was not identified in court documents.
The hospital also failed to take adequate measures to communicate with Terie Singemasa, the child鈥檚 mother, who speaks Chuukese and 鈥渧ery little鈥 English, Seitz said.
鈥淭hey made no effort to get an interpreter,鈥 Seitz said of the hospital staff.
According to Seitz, Singemasa and her husband, Kisichy Esa, migrated to Hawaii from Chuuk, part of the Federated States of Micronesia. They live with their children in a public housing complex in Kalihi. Esa works as a dishwasher in Waikiki, and Singemasa is a stay-at-home mother.
The family usually receives medical care from a health clinic in Kalihi, Seitz said, but their son鈥檚 illness warranted visits to the ER.
Singemasa first brought her son to the ER at Kapiolani in聽June 2015, according to a chronology in the lawsuit. Nine days later, they returned when his condition worsened from a cough and fever to diarrhea and vomiting. Singemasa left with her son after he was discharged, but brought him back聽a third time just seven hours later, the suit states.
During the third聽visit, after a failed attempt at connecting the baby to an IV tube, Singemasa was given instructions in English to give her son more fluids, the suit states.
鈥淚 think she partially understood those instructions,鈥 said Seitz. 鈥淏ut hydrating by mouth was not a substitute for IV.鈥
They returned again聽10 hours later, the suit states, and during the final visit, the聽baby was pronounced dead. A medical examiner鈥檚 report cited bronchopneumonia as the cause of death, the suit states.
Hospital spokeswoman Kristen Bonilla declined Wednesday to comment specifically about the case, but issued this statement:
Interpretation聽Can ‘Completely Change A Medical Visit’
One in four Hawaii residents 5聽and older speak a language other than English at home, with the highest population of non-English speakers concentrated on Oahu, according to聽 by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
础听 and 聽require hospitals that receive federal or state funding to offer interpretation and translation options to patients with limited English proficiency.
It鈥檚 a critical service to provide in a hospital setting, said Helena Manzano, executive director of the state鈥檚 .
鈥淧eople in Hawaii tend to not complain,鈥 Manzano said, 鈥渟o we don鈥檛 know if these services are happening.鈥
Along with the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia is part of the Compact of Free Association nations. Migrants from these countries are part of a population that has for decades migrated to the United States, partially in a quest for better medical care.
Today, an estimated 15,000 people from COFA nations live in Hawaii.
Kokua Kalihi Valley, a health clinic based in Kalihi Valley, offers medical services to immigrant populations with a multitude of languages and English proficiency levels.
It鈥檚 hard to find qualified interpreters for聽clinics and hospitals, says Dr. David Derauf, executive director at Kokua Kalihi Valley. But it can 鈥渃ompletely change a medical visit,鈥 by providing a more thorough patient history, he said.
In Hawaii鈥檚 larger hospitals, lack of access to language interpreters can affect the care and access that members of Hawaii鈥檚 immigrant communities receive, according to Dina Shek, legal director of the .
鈥淚f you can鈥檛 communicate with someone, especially in the emergency room, you really have to question what level of care you鈥檙e providing,鈥 Shek said.
Read the lawsuit below:
